Driver (clipper)
19th c. US clipper ship
Driver was a clipper ship, constructed for David Ogden et al. in 1854 at Newburyport, Massachusetts. She sailed between New York and Liverpool carrying immigrants to the US for the Red Cross Line. She was lost at sea with no known survivors after setting sail from Liverpool 12 February 1856. 377 died.
Development and design
Driver was constructed in Newburyport in 1854 for David Ogden et al. It seems likely that she was constructed by Currier and Townsend as were the other clippers owned by David Ogden that sailed for the same Red Cross Line.
Question has been raised over her characterisation as a true clipper ship due to her less clipper like hull shape, however her sail plan was lofty and heavily sparred allowing her to reach great speed. Advertisements of the day certainly described her as a clipper – "The magnificent first-class extraordinary fast-sailing American-built Clipper Ship Driver."
Service history
Driver made four successful return voyages between New York and Liverpool under the captaincy of Nicholas Holberton. He was an experienced captain who had been the master of the ships Noemi and Andrew Foster for the same shipowners.
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This entry incorporates text from “Driver (clipper)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.